New Zealand's National Business Review and TVNZ are reporting, says The Register, that the January seizures the the Coatesville mansion of Megaupload kingpin Kim DotCom were illegal and as such are therefor invalid in court.

Judge Helen Winkelmann is reported to have said that the warrants did not adequately describe the offences to which they related. "Indeed they fell well short of that. They were general warrants, and as such, are invalid," she told TVNZ.

Further ruling by Winkelmann declares that the hard drives clones from DotComs originals—which were sent to FBI in the U.S.—were not permitted to leave the country and that they must now be retuned.

New Zealand Police have just now issued a statement, reports TVNZ, saying that they "are considering the judgement and are in discussions with Crown law to determine what further action might be required." [TheRegister]